Is $1000 enough for an emergency fund?

[Writer@Large]

Re: Is $1000 enough for an emergency fund?

I know things happen (like car repairs), been there, but if you know it's going to happen (you just don't know when) then you need to have that built into the budget.

But, again, the $1,000 is a baby step towards a fuller budget plan. The kind of people who start out with a $1000 fund (like myself a few months ago) do so because they don't have the means yet to be bankrolling money for anticipated future car repairs.

If I was in the very early stages of getting out of debt, those things might paralyze me. They aren't what I would consider emergencies, but having the $1,000 to take care of them might keep me from getting derailed.

Exactly. And for most of us with the $1000 fund, that's all it is--it's there until we can build a better base.

--W@L